Over and Over
by SurMarauder
Summary: Everything we knew about ghosts, the Ghost Zone, and time itself, were all wrong. Now Danny and his friends, faced with a new set of problems never encountered before, have to figure out how exactly to deal with it all. But time is running out. [Post-PP]
1. Beginnings

_If you're confused after reading this, then we are on the right track. Normalcy continues next chapter. Enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own the TV show "Danny Phantom". All rights belong to its creators.

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-ȿɱ-

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The ever desolate vastness of the Ghost Zone laid before him in a wreckage of pluming blue fire and carnage. It was as if time itself had frozen; nothing moved, and everything weaved in and out of his vision. But that could've been due to the fact that he was slowly bleeding out. The man, gruff with older age, groaned as he pressed his hand into his wounded side. The sound of squelching flesh, accompanied with the sharp pains that crossed over his abdomen like lightning, was enough to make the seasoned warrior vomit the rest of his innards.

But by the god's mercy, he was able to keep himself dignified enough to watch the upcoming doom. A shift of movement caught his attention, and the man sluggishly turned his head to look over his shoulder. A figure, cloaked in a deep purple and stained with green and red alike, slowly rose. No breath came from it, and although it's movements were slow and determined, there was an age hidden behind the glowing red eyes beneath the cowl.

The man couldn't help but chuckle bitterly as he watched the figure stagger two steps closer to his own figure. "M'quite surprised. Figured yo'were dead."

The figure, apparently having ignored the man's commentary, soon came to stand beside him. In his hand appeared a cane, which he rested heavily on. Red eyes bore into the man's dulled green irises. "It's time."

Without much of a reaction, save for the deep inhale and slow exhale of precious air, the man stood up straighter and turned away from the figure. His green eyes looked to the distance, finding it hard to look away from the pulsating orb of sickly chartreuse energy. It hovered about fifty feet in the air, suspending by nothing but its own disturbing power. It acted as a mind of its own, though the man knew better.

Fighting the bile that was threatening to come up, the man began to walk steadily towards the orb. The edges of his vision wavered once more, as if his body was being depleted by oxygen. Just another breath. One more step. He kept telling himself those words, a knowing lie, but he had to keep going. There wasn't anyone else to bet on.

He didn't know how long it took him to get there, but he suddenly found himself near the scorching energy. His chapped lips parted, taking in a wheezing breath; the energy was so hot, that standing near it felt like he was cooking his lungs from the inside out.

Raising an arm to cover his mouth and nose, a feeble attempt to protect himself, he cast his green eyes up. The orb seemed to be shuddering at his presence, and yet it began to stir. A low hum was let loose, so strong in its sound that it immediately deafened the man. He took a challenging step towards the orb, his arms now falling to his sides. A look of sheer determination and acceptance was plastered onto his sweaty face.

His lips curled in a sneer, and he took a deeply burning and painful breath before the words flowed out of him like a used vessel.

"To cease the storm, to end the fear.."

The words flowed off his tongue smoothly, and amidst the fire and the toxic air, the carnage and the wastelands before him, his voice never wavered. Words turned into a cryptic language, one that the man had never heard in his life.

It was as if something were speaking through him with newfound energy.

Even as his eyes clouded with his inevitable fate, the words continued, his voice never wavering nor his body never collapsing. Just as soon as the words ceased, the man's heart stilled, and the world exploded into green fire.

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-ȿɱ-

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 _Thanks for reading!_


	2. Just Some Bad Luck

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom._

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-ȿɱ-

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It was a relatively sunny day in the city of Amity Park. Some pleasant clouds rolled by, but not enough to block out the well-needed sun. There was little snow left, but even so, the winter had dragged on until the middle of March. By that time, everyone was ready for some summer sunshine; especially Danny, Sam, and Tucker.

They were currently hanging out at the Nasty Burger, one of their more traditional spots. However, since the Disasteroid incident, a lot of things had changed. Tucker Foley was now 'Mayor' Foley, and was always busy. Frankly, the first few months after the Earth had been saved was complete hell for him. His main duty at the time was filtering in who waltzed into his city and who didn't, all because of his best friend's new publicity as the world's savior. Whether it was paparazzi, fangirls, or even protesters, there was always something _constantly_ happening.

A year later, and things had finally calmed down. The occasional group of fangirls would storm his office, demanding to be seen by Danny Phantom. But Tucker's security team was well versed, and simple matters such as those were quelled within a few minutes. Now it was just dutiful mayor jobs, such as paperwork, conference calls, paperwork, press conferences, and paperwork. Tucker sighed internally as he watched his two friends across the table; he certainly missed the old days. Not that the current times were all that bad; no more secrets, no more hiding, and ghosts left them alone most of the time. They hardly got to spend time together, so today was extra special for the three of them. On that note, Tucker pushed all of his other thoughts away, and simply focused back in on his two friends with a smile.

"Honestly, you two, what's the point of getting a vehicle if you're only averaging ten miles per gallon? That's just ridiculous." Sam folded her arms and, even though she had addressed both of them, glared over at Danny. He in return simply smiled sheepishly and shrugged a shoulder.

"Come on Sam, it may be a piece of metal junk that uses up a whole tank in a few days, but it has its charms. No offense to your Prius."

Sam's eyes widened, and her face turned a little red. Suddenly, a finger was prodding Danny in the chest accusingly. "Offense taken! Are you insinuating that my Prius has no charm?"

Danny, for the moment, was frozen. Eyes wide, he simply grinned at her awkwardly. "Uh.."

"Sam, are you assuming your Prius could ever have any charm? I mean, it's a cylindrical bullet. On batteries." Tucker piped in daringly, watching as her sharp glare turned to his own eyes.

"..You both think its _sooo_ funny. But let me know if you ever want a contest, Mr. Mayor, because I will beat your stupid Chrysler in both speed AND efficiency! And Danny's truck isn't even in the race!" Though her voice had risen, and her eyes remained piercing, both boys could tell there was amusement behind her words.

Danny laughed good-naturedly, not bothering to stick up for his truck that much. Especially if it was against his girlfriend. Tucker, however, took great offense to her words, and placed a dramatic hand to his heart. "How dare you! Bella is a great car and is WAY faster than yours!"

Sam and Danny both shared a glance, before falling into rolling fits of laughter. Tucker folded his arms and turned his gaze away, full-blown pouting now etched into every fiber of his being.

After a moment of catching their breaths, Sam was the first to speak. "Tucker, I wouldn't worry. Your car is sure to be a girl snatcher this time."

Before Tucker could even perk up at her statement, a familiar shudder passed over Danny, and his ghost sense was barely noticeable to the other two.

"Of course," Danny mumbled, and shot an apologetic look to Tucker and Sam. "I'll make it quick." And with that, he disappeared from his spot.

Sam sighed and rested her chin in her hand, leaning forward onto the table as she stared at Tucker boredly. "I would suggest doing something else in the meantime, but.." she trailed off, looking behind him to see his "swat" brigade of security.

Tucker only shrugged in response. "What can I say, they won't let me out of their sight."

"You're telling me."

An uncomfortable silence followed, and neither teen looked at the other. Tucker's eyes found themselves studying the details of paint on the wall beside him, whilst Sam had her attention drawn towards the outside storm clouds. A tightening in his chest caused Tucker to sigh inwardly; they weren't supposed to be like this. They had been friends for nearly a decade, but now it seems they often fell into distilled silences and forced conversations. What had happened to their infamous trio?

Tucker could only glance at Sam with a mournful look. He knew the reason why, and yet, he was still in denial. Things would go back to normal, eventually. They could get over any hurtle thrown at them, so long as they stayed together.

 _Right?_

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The timing was impeccable, or so Danny thought as he flew through the sky slowly. Storm clouds had gathered since he first took off half an hour ago, and the scent of warm rain was in the air. The halfa sighed as he landed on the top of a random building. He was on the outskirts of the city, and all he could see were trees, cracked roads, and old brick houses.

No ghost.

A fleeting sensation of irritation burned in Danny's chest. _I swear, if its the Box Ghost again.._ He drifted off as an odd thought crossed his mind. Ever since the Disasteroid incident, ghosts had left him and Amity Park well enough alone. The only appearance of spectral energy were minor ghosts who dared to meet the 'infamous' Danny Phantom. Even Skulker, whose threat hung in the back of Danny's mind, only showed up four times since last year.

Everything had certainly changed, and Danny considered the lack of ghosts to be a good sign. But as of late, a thread of worry etched too deeply within his mind for him to simply shake off. Recently, he had taken to the skies to patrol, simply to see if he could find anything to prove the nauseous gut feeling that still hadn't faded.

Things certainly _had_ changed, if he was actually hoping for a ghost to show up. Except the Box Ghost. If he ever decided that he wanted that ghost around, he would turn himself into the nearest Asylum as soon as he could.

Danny flinched as a fat raindrop landed on the tip of his nose, and he looked up instinctively. _Oh, perfect._ In retrospect, rain was one of the few things of nature he thoroughly enjoyed. But now, it only meant he had to head home before his parents fretted over him.

Another perk; his parents were much more patient and lenient with him on his curfew. Bad news; they _constantly_ worried over him, and it seemed he had to go through a full medical exam almost every night. Despite the thought, Danny couldn't help but smile.

He felt fortunate to have such great parents. Weird, a little crazy, dangerous, and embarrassing? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. But throughout the years, and the whole ordeal of the Disasteroid, Danny couldn't have pictured it being better. He had the support, the care, and the extra leash-length to get his job done without much struggle.

Danny allowed himself to float up from the building, taking off at a casual flying speed towards his house. Glancing down at his watch, glaring neon numbers glowed brightly against his pale face: 10:01. Normally, he would've freaked out, having expected his parents to ground him to oblivion. But now-

Danny let out a gasp of cold air, but before he could gather his bearings he was suddenly slapped out of the sky. Now, slapped was a fairly simple term, but it had felt more like a cleaver raking over multiple points of his body. An earsplitting scream erupted from him, his eyes closed tightly in pain. He felt his back collide with something extremely rigid before tumbling backwards from the momentum. Bricks and old mortar rained around him for a few tense moments, and his chest heaved with the struggle of taking in air.

Oh how he hated this part of town.

Having landed on his stomach, Danny got his arms beneath him to push himself up with great effort. His eyes were glued to the gigantic hole he had created in the side of the building, and apart of him was impressed the structure was still standing. But asides from his shuddering breaths, and the occasional fit of coughing from the mortar dust, there was no other sign of who, or what, had hit him.

As he stood, he winced and let out a hiss of pain, his fingers reaching down to his bleeding side. Danny's eyes were wide, not having sustained such an injury before. And yet, that's not what stilled his heart. A low growling rumbled nearby, too close for Danny's comfort. Yet he remained frozen.

A large snout, the length of a large horse, showed itself just outside the hole. Large nostrils were flared, taking in the surrounding scents. 'Searching for him,' his mind stated blatantly. Danny slowly moved back down in a crouch, hoping to stay hidden until it passed.

He wasn't sure if he was lucky enough for that gamble.

The snout, now turning into a maw, then a head, moved silently along. Not even the sound of scales could be heard, or the thundering of its large feet. Scars were shown prominently along the thick hide, dripping down into the lips which held an extreme under bite. But what scared Danny the most was not the notation of previous battles; it was the eyes.

Or.. lack thereof.

Danny had expected bright red eyes, or ghostly green ones. Something terrifying and maleficent, _familiar_. Instead, he found himself staring into a gaping hole where an eye should have been.

The thought of going intangible and just freezing the blasted creature crossed his mind, but Danny quickly shoved it aside. Something told him this beast, or ghost, or.. whatever it was, was different. The fear kept him grounded, and all of the years of experience and training seemed to fly out the window.

He was now the scared freshman that wanted to run away and scream, _"Ghoooosts!"_

However, his stubbornness kicked in, and he furrowed his brows. He was not going to run away. Just as he was about to delve into gathering a battle plan, his pocket began to rattle around and ring an excruciatingly loud sound.

 _"Emberrrr, you will rememberrrrr-"_

Danny cursed under his breath and fumbled with his phone like a slippery fish, desperately trying to silence the ringtone. With a snap, the flip-phone was open and he stared at the caller: Tucker. His gaze slowly lifted, and the monster that he had been witnessing was suddenly right there.

The jagged muzzle of the creature was but a few inches from him, its eyeless sockets staring into his soul. Danny felt his face pale, his heart completely stop, and his body began to tingle with an odd sensation of fear he had never experienced before.

It seemed like an eternity, he and the beast staring at one another, before a sound interrupted their moment. _"Dude, where are you? We were supposed to be meeting at the movies, remember?"_ The irritation clearly shown in his best friend's voice was not quite registering with Danny. The only thing he could focus on were those _eyes_ , and how much his hands were trembling. _"Hey, are you even there? What-"_ Vaguely, he could hear Sam's voice in the background muttering something to Tucker, cutting him off. But Danny didn't dare take his gaze away from the beast. He felt as though he were staring at an old creature, a crocodillian dinosaur, waiting to be judged by whatever fate he was about to be dealt with.

And yet, he didn't feel like joining the Ghost Zone as a permanent resident that day, or any other day. Danny hesitated for a moment, before he ever so slightly leaned back. His shoe caught on a tiny piece of brick, causing a spine-tingling noise akin to nails on a chalkboard.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Just as Danny leapt backwards as far and as fast as he could, he could hear the large animal's jaws snap shut just inches from his face.

He was _so_ not cool with this.

Danny immediately turned intangible, bursting upwards at breakneck speeds. Vaguely, he could hear loud clambering and yelling on the phone, but he had no time to answer or listen in. He dove down lower to the ground, speeding along the broken asphalt roads. His eyes watered with the wind and rain beating down into his face. He dared not look back. He could practically feel the hot breath of the beast on his ghost-tail.

He suddenly took an extremely sharp turn to his left, towards the trees. A gnarl erupted from the animal, sounding like a lion gurgling salt water with an extra dose of dinosaur. Danny zigzagged through the trees, hearing the splintering of wood from his pursuer.

Vaguely, he now noticed the deep rumbling of the beast as it thundered after him. The thing was _big_.

Panic threatened to consume Danny, until he felt an idea come to mind. He had no clue if it would work, or what his attacker's weakness was. But it was his best shot thus far, and it was worth the risk. Danny willed himself faster, drawing on the energy within his iced core. Now moving at neck-breaking speeds, it was only a moment later until he burst through the wood's treeline.

Below him was a large stretch of water. Although it wasn't anything like Lake Michigan, Danny knew how deep it was. So with a sudden amount of courage, he stopped midflight and turned around.

No, not courage. _Complete_ and _total_ stupidity.

The creature barreled into him, and both Danny and the beast yelled out in surprise. Danny suddenly found himself hitting a brick wall of ice cold water, the beast driving him down at a rapid speed. If he weren't in ghost form, he surely would have sustained severe damage just from the water pressure. Danny's arms were pinned to his sides, a large scaled claw gripping him tightly. The beast was merciless in its grasp, squeezing Danny with all its might almost immediately.

Danny couldn't help but let out a muffled scream of pain, loosing most of his precious air. His mind was too muffled, senses too fried, to remember he could go intangible and simply flee. But even if he had the coherency for that, 300 feet beneath below-freezing water, he simply lacked the energy.

Just as he started to realize how stupid his plan had been, something changed. The beast was suddenly swimming sporadically, but had made no successful movement towards the surface. It was panicking. Realizing this, Danny painfully freed one of his arms. It was hard to keep focus on the creature as it seemed to spin and flail around, throwing Danny around whilst doing so. With the water gargling around his head, he finally was able to focus for a brief moment.

A brief moment was all he needed.

His hand grabbed onto one of the beast's talons, and his eyes shone a brilliant blue. Three-inch thick ice began to creep up the unsuspecting creature. Only when it was moving up it's thick neck did the beast start howling in terror.

Danny's vision started to waver, but he gripped the talon with a vice-like grip. _Almost there.._ With a last spurt of a caterwaul, the beast was silenced, encased in its iced prison. The clawed hand that held Danny went slack enough for him to wiggle out of the grip. A attempt to swim upwards ended up being an extremely painful experience for Danny, and his body seized from the sudden spasms from his exposed side. Feeling himself starting to succumb to the water's depth, Danny aimed down towards the beast with a glowing green hand, and fired.

The ectoplasmic ray propelled him upwards swiftly, and he suddenly found himself being tossed through the air. But Danny had no energy to take flight, and simply allowed his shoulder to collide with the surface of the water. He ended up skidding across the water twice before crashing head-first into the sandy shore. Tumbling head over feet, Danny finally slid to a halt beside a lone tree on some grass. He instinctively rolled over on his side, the ghost teen hacking up all the water he had inhaled. Thoroughly worn out, Danny rolled onto his back with a tense sigh, allowing his vision to swim and his breathing to slow to a steadier rate.

Danny raised his hand, looking at it with a bemused expression as he released the crushed parts of his phone; or what was left of it. He was sure Tucker and Sam were absolutely freaking out by this point, and he had no way to contact them.

As he began to calm down, the evidence of his injuries suddenly came into full realization as a lightning stab of pain caused him to gasp. Why did it hurt to breathe so much? Forcing himself up on his elbow, he touched his raw side.

Three large jagged gashes had ripped open his abdomen. His jumpsuit was stained green _and_ red. _Not a good sign,_ he thought with a mental grumble. He wouldn't be able to make it home, much less go get help. Falling back down onto his back, Danny let out a low groan, feeling his muscles spasming from the trauma.

With his last shred of energy, he raised his hand skyward. Against the rain, Danny released a large ectoblast, illuminating the thunder clouds that loomed over him.

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-ȿɱ-

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 _Thanks for reading!_


	3. Some Things

_Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. All rights to Butch Hartman._

 _Some bits of DxS fluff in this one. Enjoy!_

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-ȿɱ-

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Sam stood outside the theater with her arms folded across her chest, her back leaning against the wall, and her brows set in a worried frown. Tucker was currently pacing, holding three wrinkled tickets in his hand and a phone in the other. Sam chanced a glance over at her friend, who seemed to be quite irritated at the person on the other end of the line.

"I already told you, Maurice, you need to keep my schedule clear tonight! I don't want to hear about any Council proceedings without me, I don't want to hear about news conferences happening tomorrow, and I certainly don't need _you_ telling me when I can or cannot go see a movie with friends!" Tucker was visibly flushed at this point, panting a few frustrated breaths out.

There was a short pause before he started speaking again. "No, no- No! Maurice, you need to listen to me, and listen carefully. I hired you _specifically_ for this. Please tell me you aren't capable of keeping my schedule clear for three hours on a Monday night?" Another pause. "Good, I'd hate to look for another assistant." Tucker snapped his phone shut and shoved it in his pocket, grumbling under his breath.

Sam walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder, offering a slight smile. "Come on Tucker, there's no need to get yourself to worked up. We're here at the movies, okay? If they show up at your office to sign papers, then I guess they will be out of luck. Besides," she placed her hands on her hips, quirking a brow at him, "since when did you grow a backbone?"

Tucker scoffed and tried to glare at her, but it was hard to stay mad at his friend for long, especially with that "Sam stance" of hers. " _Ha-ha_ , very funny. I had to grow one pretty fast to deal with all those political dogs out there." He subconsciously straightened his beret, grinning at her, "The ladies dig it, ya know. A man in charge, and what not-"

He was cut off when his phone started ringing, and he bit back a groan. Delving into his pocket, Tucker pulled the phone out and answered it. "What do you want now, Maurice?"

 _"Who the heck is Maurice?"_

"Oh! Hey Jazz." Tucker grinned sheepishly, and Sam couldn't help but snicker behind her hand.

 _"..Anyway, have you seen Danny yet? Its getting late, and I know he said you three were going to the movies, but he also said he'd stop by after his patrol to get a fresh pair of clothes."_

Sam arched a brow and looked at Tucker. "Since when does Danny get a fresh pair of anything for a movie?"

Tucker laughed, "I'm sure he's fine, Jazz. You know his patrols can take awhile."

 _"I always thought his patrols weren't as long as five hours."_ There was a hint of bitter sarcasm in her tone that shut up Tucker's chuckle.

"..Wait, you haven't seen him for five hours?" He glanced over at Sam, who suddenly looked concerned at the thought.

 _"No- well. We spoke this morning, and he said he was meeting you two at the Nasty Burger, then he was going to do a patrol before seeing a movie with you guys. Why, is something wrong?"_ Her tone pitched into worry at the end of her question.

Tucker automatically shook his head, forcing out a slight chuckle, "No no, everything is fine, Jazz. He's probably on his way now. His patrols get pretty late into the night." Tucker and Sam shared another look.

 _"Are you su-"_

"Jazz, we will call if he doesn't show up in the next 10 minutes, okay? Don't worry."

 _"Alright, if you say so.."_

After their goodbyes, Tucker closed his phone and looked at Sam, both of their faces pale. "Tucker, call Danny. Something doesn't seem right," Sam finally spoke out, glancing towards the sky as if she'd see Danny any moment.

Tucker did as he was told, opening the phone and speed-dialing Danny's cell. He was surprised how quickly his friend answered the phone, and so he started talking right away. "Dude, where are you? We were supposed to be meeting at the movies, remember?" Filtering out the part about Jazz calling to see where Danny had been was, for a good reason, left out of that conversation. The look Sam gave him told Tucker he made the right choice. But when there was no response from the other end, he couldn't help but clutch the phone tighter. "Hey, are you even there? What-" Tucker was cut off when Sam's hand grabbed his wrist, pulling the phone away from his fingers.

When she put the phone to her ear, she opened her mouth to speak but she soon froze. Her brows knitted together, as if she were confused, or focusing too hard. "What is it?" Tucker asked, and she quickly shushed him and gripped the phone tightly to her ear. She could hear various noises, most of which sounded like wind and a lot of scraping. She listened intensely, frozen in place with Tucker staring at her almost horrified at her response. Sam tried desperately to make out the sounds, begging for a clue as to what was going on. Suddenly, the noises stopped and the wind died down. She pulled the phone from her ear, looking down at it; the call hadn't been lost. So what..?

Just as she put it back to her ear, an all-too-familiar scream was heard. Sam gasped, "Danny!" Tucker rushed closer to her, grabbing the phone from her shaking hand, but all he could hear was an empty dial tone.

The line was dead.

* * *

"Step on it Tucker!" Sam yelled, her hands gripping the dashboard of his Chrysler 200. He expertly weaved in and out of parked cars, and Tucker was silently grateful that it was a Monday night. Nobody was around at 11:00pm, not even local police.

"Sam, where the heck am I going? I don't want to be speeding around for nothing!" Tucker dared not look over at Sam, his eyes wide and glued to the road as if his life depended on it.

Sam's eyes were focused on the road also, her brows furrowed in grim determination. "I don't know! There wasn't anything I heard that gave away his position. Since we haven't seen anything, and we've been in the middle of town all day, I'm assuming its the outskirts."

Tucker nodded in agreement, "Danny's been taking his fights out there as of late, to do less damage to my budg- I mean, the town." She scowled at him, but he didn't have a moment to react as he took a hard left turn. He knew exactly where to go from here. After zipping down an alley and down some old roads, they finally came to a stop along the curb of an old subdivision.

Both teens flew out of the car, and stood in awe at the ruins before them. The building was old, to say the least, and bricks were still falling down every so often. A gaping hole was etched into the side. Sam immediately dashed over, Tucker calling after her.

"Wait, Sam-!"

Sam ignored him, however, and carefully climbed through the hole. "Danny?" she called, looking around. It was pitch black, and extremely dusty. Raising an arm, she covered her nose and mouth as she stepped down the mound of bricks.

"Sam, I don't think that's a good idea!" Tucker looked above them, noting how unstable the infrastructure was after a hit like this.

"Danny!" Sam called again, but heard nothing but her echo. She cursed under her breath, crouching down to see if there were any signs. "What if he's buried, Tucker? We can't just leave him!"

"Sam!"

"Tucker, I mean it-!" She whipped around on him angrily, but he was staring at the sky, still on the outside of the hole.

She quickly climbed back out, looking at Tucker before turning her gaze skywards. There, amidst the rolling rain clouds, was a green spectral light.

An ectoblast.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he came to, but Danny had certainly expected to be sopping wet, possibly in a puddle of mud, and maybe half-frozen. What he didn't foresee was a soft blanket over him, and an even softer bed beneath him. His brows furrowed and twitched with the energy it took to open his eyes, and when they finally opened he could see a dimly lit room with glowing stars on the ceiling.

 _My room?_ Danny's muffled thoughts collided with the massive headache in his right temple, and he couldn't help but groan. He raised a hand to press against the soreness, tilting his head slightly to the left. He saw Sam in his computer chair, her head and arms on the foot of his bed as she slept. Tucker was crashed on his bean bag chair, head lolled back and loudly snoring. Danny couldn't help but chuckle with amusement.

His headache began to recede as his vision came more into focus, and he was able to push himself up with some effort into a sitting position. His movement jostled Sam awake, and she slowly eased up into a straighter position as she blinked open her tired eyes. Danny found it comical to see her staring right at him, still half asleep, for almost an entire half minute. That was, until he noticed her slightly puffy eyes.

Sam's eyes widened as her mind seemed to finally realize Danny was awake and sitting up. Without a word, she climbed onto the bed quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Danny held back the hiss of discomfort around his ribs, and instead curled his arms around her back. Her silence was almost unnerving to Danny as she simply held onto him, and he couldn't help but rub her back reassuringly. "Are you alright, Sam?" Woah, his voice was much more raspy then he thought. Sam pulled back from him, her brows knitted together in a frown as she playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Ow!", Danny exclaimed, "What was that for?"

"Don't be so stupid!" Sam snapped, but the bite in her tone wasn't nearly as potent as she wanted it to be. Her expression fell, and she almost looked.. sad? Her eyes had landed on his bandaged torso, which Danny finally realized he had when he followed her gaze.

 _She's just worried._

Danny reached out and grabbed Sam's hands, offering her a genuine smile. "Sorry, it was a standard question. But, really, I'm fine."

Sam kept her gaze glued to his neatly done bandages, and Danny could see she was trying to figure out something to say. Finally, she looked up at him. "What _happened_ , Danny?"

Immediately, his mind was taken back to the events. _Empty eyes, a scarred maw, hot rotten breath, the flight, the water, how he nearly.._ He was brought back from his thoughts when he felt his hands being squeezed. Sam was staring at him with concern, and Danny realized he had frozen up on her. He smiled at her, though it didn't reach his blue eyes. "I.. I honestly don't know what it was. My ghost sense had gone off, but.." he drifted off, trying to recall anything he had missed while he had been in his panicked state. He stared back into her amethyst eyes, holding onto her hands like a lifeline. "Sam, this thing.. it was _different_. There's no way it was just some animal."

Sam's eyes widened in some surprise, "Animal? What did it look like?"

Danny thought back, and took a deep breath. "It.. almost looked like a dragon, in size and shape, but the head was more.. dog-like? It also looked like a crocodile, and had really long talons." Sam winced at the last part.

"That.. almost sounds familiar, but-" A loud yawn and a set of groans erupted in the room, and the two looked over to see Tucker stretching dramatically. Danny and Sam glanced at each other with amusement, and Danny was grateful for the break. He didn't feel up to recalling what had happened just yet; he was just grateful to have his friends nearby.

"Hey, Tucker," Danny spoke fairly loudly, "Do you mind? You're gonna wake the whole neighborhood."

Tucker sat up with another groan, rubbing at his face. "Man, do you know what time it is? A mayor never gets to sleep, and now you're making dumb jokes at-" Tucker froze, shaking his head quickly to clear out the sleep, and grinned when he saw his best friend staring at him with a bemused expression. "Dude! You're okay!"

Tucker came over and gave Danny a fairly suitable bear hug, eliciting a gasp from the ghost-boy. Tucker pulled back and apologized, which Danny shook off with a sheepish smile. "Of course I'm okay, but seriously, try not to kill me next time I just wake up."

Sam folded her arms and stared at the two of them with an arched brow, "Oh, man, the bromance is getting really real in here. Tone it down a bit, I can only handle so much." The three of them shared a laugh.

Danny glanced over at the clock: 3:47am

"Oh, jeez. How are you two still functional at this time? And- wait," Danny paused, staring at the two of them with confusion, "Where's Jazz? And my parents?"

"Your mom and dad were at a convention in the next city over, and had to stay the night at a hotel. Jazz covered for you. She's with them," Tucker explained relatively calmly.

Danny, still being confused, responded with, "Covered for me? Why did she have to cover for me?"

"Danny," Sam began, "We all thought it was best to not have your parents freak out and come barreling down the highway to your side in the middle of the night. We know you trust them, and we trust them, but.." she trailed off, as if not knowing how to word it correctly.

Tucker crossed his arms, "They're still your parents, dude. They will freak out even more if they knew what happened to you."

Danny couldn't help but agree, and he laughed. "Darn, so they haven't lost the whole 'Ghosts!'," he waved his hands dramatically, "charade yet?"

Sam and Tucker shared a laugh before Sam spoke, "Are you kidding? That'll never end."

Danny smiled at his friends. "Some things never do."

* * *

-ȿɱ-

* * *

 _Thanks for reading!_


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